Check ID:
Provider: Azure
Service:
Severity: MEDIUM
Resource type:
policy_ensure_asc_enforcement_enabledProvider: Azure
Service:
policySeverity: MEDIUM
Resource type:
microsoft.authorization/policyassignmentsWhat this check verifies
Defender for Cloud default policy assignment (SecurityCenterBuiltIn) uses enforcement mode Default rather than DoNotEnforce
Risk
WithDoNotEnforce, policy effects like deny and deployIfNotExists aren’t applied, letting insecure configs persist. This erodes confidentiality and integrity (exposed endpoints, weak encryption) and can affect availability via unpatched or misconfigured services, enabling compromise and lateral movement.
Recommendation
Keep enforcement modeDefault on the default initiative and avoid disabling critical effects. Apply at scale for consistent governance, align with least privilege and defense in depth, validate changes in Audit in non-prod, and manage justified exceptions via time-bound policy exemptions instead of turning enforcement off.
Remediation
- CLI
- Terraform
- Native IaC
- Dashboard steps
az policy assignment update —name SecurityCenterBuiltIn —scope /subscriptions/<SUBSCRIPTION_ID> —enforcement-mode Default
References
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/defender-for-cloud/policy-reference
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/defender-for-cloud/implement-security-recommendations
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/defender-for-cloud/security-policy-concept
Where this check fires
This check runs on every scheduled scan against your Azure account. Findings appear at Cloud Security → Findings filterable byCheck ID = policy_ensure_asc_enforcement_enabled. To re-evaluate after a fix, hit Run now on the account’s schedule under Cloud Security → Schedules — the next scan re-checks this control and marks the finding fixed or keeps it persistent.
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